


Another Day on Voyager

by Donald King (PK_preservation_project)



Series: On Voyager [2]
Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: M/M, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2019-04-06 15:20:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14059797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PK_preservation_project/pseuds/Donald%20King
Summary: Sequel to"Another Evening on Voyager".  Tom and Harry's relationship sparks commotion around the ship, includinggaspa bit of much-needed character development.  It's even more tame than its predecessor.





	Another Day on Voyager

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Leigh, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [P/K All the Way](https://fanlore.org/wiki/P/K_All_the_Way) and was moved to the AO3 as part of the Open Doors project in 2018. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are the creator and would like to claim this work, please contact me using the e-mail address on [P/K All the Way’s collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/pkalltheway/profile).
> 
> ====
> 
> Disclaimer: Paramount owns Tom, Harry, and all their friends. I'm  
> just making a few suggestions for next season.
> 
> Warning: There's a same-sex relationship. There _isn't_ any same-sex sex. If that ain't your cup of tea, feel free to walk away.
> 
> Archives: Anyone that the four winds see fit, as long as you're not  
> getting paid when I'm not.
> 
> Feedback: Please, please, please! Anything but flames.

*****

Neelix sighed and looked at the chronometer on the counter. 0523.  
He knew he should get started for the breakfast rush, but he just sat  
alone in his kitchen. He'd taken the criticism of last night's dinner  
pretty hard, although he tried his damnedest to pretend it didn't  
touch him. _If only you were here, sweetums_ , he thought as he gazed  
at a holophoto of Kes. _Even after we drifted apart, you always knew_  
_what to say to cheer me up_. As he shed a tear, he suddenly felt a  
presence. "Kes?" he asked aloud. Silence answered him. He started  
breakfast, knowing that if Kes could return, she would have already.  
After all, it had been the better half of a year since she vanished.

He'd just started a batch of berry muffins when Lt. Torres walked  
into the Mess Hall. "Neelix? Are you here?"

He popped out of the kitchen. "Of course, Lieutenant! How can I  
help you?" He put his mask back in place, pretending nothing had  
happened.

"I thought I'd get an early start on the warp core. Is there  
anything I could eat on the run?" She saw the redness in Neelix's  
eyes. Lowering her voice, she softly spoke, "Or I could stay here  
and talk, if you want." She leaned forward on the counter.

Neelix's eyes lifted. B'Elanna Torres had a number of odd and  
conflicting reputations: having a short temper, being surrogate  
mother to the warp core, and being a very compassionate listener. He  
went to fetch her some fruit before he began. "It's about dinner  
yesterday. I thought it tasted wonderful, but you couldn't find  
another person on the ship who would have agreed with me."

"Now that Kes is gone," she acknowledged. She was much more  
perceptive than she let on.

"She would have beamed at me and said it was delicious," Neelix  
spoke as a chuckle and a faint smile came to him, "even if she had to  
have her stomach pumped five minutes later." His expression dropped.  
"Oh, I miss her so much."

"We all do. We haven't forgotten her." B'Elanna softly touched  
Neelix's shoulder in a gesture of reassurance.

Neelix smiled and absorbed her strength for a moment before he  
pushed himself back off the counter. "I have to take care of  
breakfast. I'll see you later." He started walking back to the  
kitchen, then stopped and turned around. "Thank you."

"Anytime, Neelix," she reassured him. _You know, he can really get  
on my nerves at times, but he's all heart._

*****

As Harry delivered his report to Engineering, he decided that it was  
time to clear things up between himself and B'Elanna. He glanced  
around the engine room, spotting her on the upper level. He rode the  
lift up, then walked to behind her. Meekly, he asked, "Hey, B'Elanna.  
Five minutes of your time?"

She took a look at her console and decided that the diagnostic could  
wait. "Sure, Harry, what's on your mind?"

He took a deep breath. "Tom told me what went on between you two,  
but I wanted to hear your side of the story."

"Well," she began, taking a thoughtful pause. "I knew it was doomed  
from the start. I could see in Tom's eyes the way he looked at you.  
Yeah, I had feelings for him, but I knew his heart was taken. I think  
the only reason he wouldn't tell you was that he was afraid of long-  
term commitment, and he wanted it to be long-term with you." Harry  
looked down a bit, blushing at being angry at B'Elanna while she and  
Tom had been together. "I gave Tom what he thought he wanted, hoping  
it was enough to make him realize that I couldn't give him Harry Kim.  
I'm sorry it strained our friendship so much." Harry looked up in  
shock; B'Elanna smiled at him. "Don't panic. I'm amazed you held it  
in for so long."

"I'm so sorry, B'Elanna."

"You're gonna be if you don't get back to a bridge." She grinned.

"Thanks for everything."

"No problem." Harry turned away and started back down the lift.  
"And good luck!" she shouted just before his head disappeared below  
the floor. _I wish I'd bet my rations on something a bit more risky.  
They're goners, now._

*****

As soon as Harry stepped back onto the bridge, Tuvok started.

"Mr. Kim, you were supposed to deliver a report to Engineering.  
There was no mention of four minutes of sightseeing."

"I was discussing the report with Lt. Torres."

"Very well." He had overheard most of the conversation between  
Paris and Kim at dinner last night, and suspected that the Ensign's  
conversation with Torres had been of a more personal nature. Kim  
seemed too contented for it to have been ship's business. In his  
mind's eye, Tuvok came as close as a Vulcan could to smiling.

*****

Harry looked up from his meal to the chronometer on Neelix's  
counter. Tom's lunch break started in three minutes. He was suddenly  
interrupted by Seven.

"Ensign Kim, may I sit with you?" she asked in her marginally-more-  
polite-than-impolite way.

"Yeah, I guess so," Harry responded with some anxiety.

"I am curious. Forgive me for being blunt, but did you ever find me  
attractive?"

"I find you aesthetically pleasing but...."

"I want to apologize for my behavior six months ago."

"Oh?" Harry _still_ wasn't sure just how Seven's mind worked.

"I believe I misread your body language."

"Oh." It clicked in Harry's mind what Seven wanted to know, so he  
began to explain. "At the time, I knew I wanted to be with Tom, but  
he was already in a relationship with B'Elanna. I think I was just  
feeling lonely."

Seven had a rare moment of insight into the human mind. "And you  
turned your affections for Lieu... Tom... toward me." She took a  
moment to absorb that, following her feeling that it applied to her  
own life somehow. "Thank you for the clarification. However, Tom  
has just entered the room, and I imagine that I would be extraneous.  
Good day, En... Harry."

A few moments later, Tom came over and sat down across from Harry.  
"What was that about?" Tom asked, feeling uncertainty and a moment of  
jealousy.

"She just apologized to me."

"Just now?"

"I think she's trying to sort things out."

"Hmm." Tom paused, committing himself to his plan. "Hey, there's a  
holodeck program I've been working on that I'd like to show you  
tonight. I have Holodeck 1 reserved for an hour. Would you meet me  
there at 2000 hours?"

"I'd love to. What's the dress?"

"Anything you want, it's casual." _I'll be nervous enough for both_  
_of us_. Tom was about to take a bite of his lunch, when he remembered  
yesterday's dinner. "Is the food any good today?"

"Actually, it's delicious. I think it's Neelix's way of  
apologizing. I swear, it almost tastes like real roast beef."

"Wow."

 

Across the room, B'Elanna ate standing at the counter as she spoke  
to Neelix.

"You're right, everybody seems to be enjoying it," Neelix said with  
a hint of disappointment. "I don't know... it tastes so bland."

"Sometimes bland is a good thing. I'm sure you could've become a  
world-famous chef on Tallax, but most people on Voyager prefer simple  
and bland. You have to keep in mind that not everyone has Tallaxian  
taste buds." She took a few bites between sentences, proud that she'd  
managed to approximate Terran roast beef so well. Neelix had doused  
his in a crude jalapeño sauce that he'd picked up on the last planet.

"Hey, B'Elanna..." Neelix started.

"Oh, so _now_ you start calling me B'Elanna?" she mock-scolded.

"I heard you started a gambling pool on those two," he said as he  
pointed in Tom and Harry's direction. He grinned. "Who's bet what  
so far?"

She'd forgotten his taste for ship's gossip. "Well, _I_ bet they'd  
be married within a month, but the odds are so good I doubt I'll get  
much of a return. The Delaney sisters showed up, and Megan bet  
they'd be engaged in three days. So many people started in, I had to  
split it into two separate pots: proposal and ceremony." Her eyes  
lit with amusement. "I'm suprised Captain Janeway herself didn't  
show up and make a bet, but I was even more suprised when Chakotay  
_did_." Neelix's pupils dialated, and B'Elanna chuckled a bit.

"Anyone else?"

"Oh, _all_ of Engineering, plus about half the ship. There's two  
_years_ of rations in the pot." Neelix whistled. B'Elanna grinned  
wider, if that was possible. "I've _never_ seen a betting pool this  
big. Then again, I've never seen one without Tom Paris being the one  
taking bets, so it may just be that people feel safe it's not rigged."

"Has anyone bet against them?"

"Nobody who's seen them together. Oddly enough, Jenny Delaney did,  
and she and Megan _never_ disagree." B'Elanna shook her head in  
amusement, practically purring. Janeway didn't know it, but gossip  
powered the ship more than dilithium ever did. B'Elanna turned around  
to see Tom and Harry lost in each other's eyes, vaguely aware that  
they were still talking to each other. "I've gotta get back to work,  
and so does Harry." She sighed, knowing she had quite a struggle in  
store for her.

 

In a quiet corner, Seven and Tuvok were in discussion. She had  
befriended him long ago, feeling that they had many things in common.  
The discussion had turned to Voyager's most famous couple.

"What are your thoughts concerning their relationship?" Seven asked.

_It's about time,_ Tuvok almost responded aloud. Catching himself,  
he said, "They have been enamoured with each other for some time,  
since long before you joined this crew. I think it is appropriate  
that they acted." Tuvok looked at the departing couple, Lt. Torres  
impatiently pulling on Ensign Kim's hand. He recalculated the odds  
and decided that his bet was still logical.

*****

The rest of Harry's shift passed without incident, and 1950 hours  
came rather quickly. He showered and dressed in loose, silky, black  
clothes. Now it was almost 2000 hours and he was briskly walking from  
the turbolift to the Holodeck. He noticed Tom pacing near the  
entrance, wearing clothes similar to his own, except that Tom's shirt  
was a deep blue. Tom stopped pacing the instant he saw Harry.

"Hi, Harry." Harry considered asking him about why he was nervous,  
but he decided to let it go. Tom ordered, "Computer, run program  
Paris Delta 5."

The computer beeped in response, then hummed for a few seconds.  
"Program complete. Enter when ready."

"Shall we?" asked Tom, reaching out his hand and fighting to keep it  
from shaking noticeably. Harry took it and they stepped in.

The sky was black, even though the sun had just set. Thunder rolled  
in the distance. Tom led Harry to a gazebo, the only structure for  
kilometers. Even trees were sparse in the desert-like grassland.

"Tom, I thought you wanted to _im_ press me, not _de_ press me."

"Wait. It gets better."

Just then, a flash of lightning streaked across the underbellies of  
50 km of clouds, followed by a thunderous boom and a sudden downpour.  
The rain changed the scent around them, clearing the grassy musk from  
the plain until it was as pure as Starfleet's finest, but with an  
indescribable, fresh, electric smell. More thunder rolled as the  
clouds took turns lighting up like purple-white beacons.

Tom began to explain. "A long time ago, before I even started at  
the Academy, I found a tattered old journal that belonged to one of  
my ancestors. Apparently, I have relatives in the American Midwest  
that I was never told about. It was a miracle how well that 400 year  
old notebook had been preserved. Reading that journal is what got me  
hooked on the 20th century in the first place.

"He wrote about a lot of things. His favorite topic seemed to be  
love; he fell for someone who didn't return his affections. He also  
discussed same-sex relationships, and how people like him were so  
often treated. He counted himself lucky, but to live in a time  
like that... I don't know how lucky he truly was.

"He was from the American Midwest, and he lived in a time before the  
weather control grids, so weather like this was a fact of life for  
him. He came to respect it, not just for its danger, but for its  
beauty. He knew that few others were willing to spend time looking  
for it, but he wrote about it anyway. During a spring storm, he would  
find a sheltered spot and just stand there, letting the wind and rain  
and sound and light wrap around him. He felt a presence in it, a  
timeless soul that would listen to his heartaches and soothe them,  
that would never abandon him no matter what he confessed.

"I never understood that myself until I visited a Federation colony  
planet during spring break at the Academy. I went there for the sole  
purpose of seeing a thunderstorm, to understand what he was writing  
about. I knew from history vids that it was nowhere near as intense  
as a Terran thunderstorm, but after I saw it -- felt it -- I knew he  
had shared the experience with me, even across 400 years.

"I started this program as soon as I got back, beginning with the  
storm I felt, then incorporating 20th century vids and scientific  
data. It took me a long time to get the smells right, but I think  
this is a fairly authentic thunderstorm. I put the final touches in  
just last week. I've been working on it for almost ten years."

Harry just stood there, absorbing the wind blowing through his hair  
and across his cheeks. Several stray drops of warm rain landed on  
his arm. The clouds rumbled gently and continuously for almost a full  
minute. He, too, began to feel the storm. A sudden, chilly gust blew  
across his arms, making him shiver, and Tom came behind him and  
wrapped his arms around him, both men staring into the living void.

"You're right. It's beautiful," he finally said after several  
minutes of silence. "It means a lot that you shared it with me."

"You're the only person I've shared it with. It's been my private  
refuge. I almost didn't survive Auckland because I didn't have this."  
Tom paused, letting Harry take in what he'd said so far. "I didn't  
want to share it, unless it was someone I wanted to spend the rest of  
my life with." With his hands, he told Harry to turn around. He  
dropped to one knee, pulled a small, felt-covered box from his shirt  
pocket, opened it, and held it up to Harry. "Will you marry me?"

Harry gasped. He reached his hand to Tom's cheek, caressing it.  
"Yes, I will."

*****


End file.
